Construction of cooling units



Feb. 20, L wE ss Re. 22,607

CONSTRUCTION OF COOLING UNITS I Qriginal Filed NOV. 27, 1940 FIG .4.

INVENTOR. Lo UIS WE I ss ATTORN Reissued Feb. 20, 1945 Louis Weiss, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to Floyd L.

Robison, Fort Smith, Ark.

Original No. 2,323,264, dated .Iune' 29, 1943, Serial No. 367,318, November 27, 1940. Application for reissue June 26, 1944, Serial No. 542,081

11 Claims.

This invention relates to construction of cooling units, and more particularly to an improved method of forming, and arrangement of parts of evaporator or cooling units for use in cabinets for bottled beverages and the like, although many features of the present novelty are equally applicable for use in heat exchange and cooling equipment for other purposes.

The product of the present invention hasbeen particularly designed for an improved and more uniform .cooling of bottled products such as bottled beer or soft drinks, and also to enhance the accessibility of chilled bottled products, in a cooling and dispensing cabinet such as used by merchants, in soda fountains, taverns and the like. Although the invention is susceptible of embodiment in other forms of cooling cabinet, it will for brevity be described by way of example, in reference to equipment of the class discussed.

A principal object of the invention is attained in an improved arrangement of piping for the circulation of a cooling medium in a beverage dis' pensing cabinet, whereby the chilled space within the cabinet is or' may be substantially uniformly cooled throughout its useful depth, and more uniformly cooled in allzones lengthwise of the refrigerated space. v

Another object'of the invention consists in an improved structural arrangement, of evaporator piping or tubing, such that the evaporator itself, particularly the parts thereof, constitutes one or a series of conduits for the cooling medium, so

arranged that the resulting evaporator construe tion constitutes a plurality of open-top cells 01' partitioned spaces, each adapted, for example, for the reception of a case of bottles/ Yet another object of the invention is attained in an improved arrangement of tubing for the circulation of a cooling medium in a cabinet, such that the refrigerant traverses, preferably at least twice, the full length of the cabinet or space therein to be chilled, between the high and low pressure ends of the evaporator, in case the improvements are employed with a mechanical refrigeration system.

A still further object of the invention attained is an improved structure of tubing for the circulation of a cooling medium such that the evaporator parts are maintained at substantially a uniform temperature throughout their depth, or otherwise expressed, so that not only the tubing, but the area intervening it, is kept at substantially the same temperature in the different vertical cooling zones thereof.

Ancillary to the foregoing object is that of providing a structurally more rigid evaporator construction of tubeand plate type, such that certain plate elements are metallically united to the tubing and serve a novel structural purpose combined with the objective of augmenting the heat transfer area of the unit, and yet such that the plate elements do not add appreciably to the overall space requirements of the tubing elements were the latter to be used alone.

The foregoing and numerous other objects will appear from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention, considered in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

vation of'a' beverage cabinet, equippedin accord- Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional eleance with present improvements;

Figure 2 is a top or plan view, somewhat enlarged, of the evaporator unit shown in the cabinet of Figure 1; I

Figure '3 is an enlarged transverse section of the unit of Figure 2, as viewed along line 33 thereofiandvn.

" Figure-4 is an'enlarged transverse section of a portion of the" cooling unit of Figure 2, as viewed along line 4-! thereof. I

Referring now'by characters of reference to the drawing, although the exact form of the cabinet per se, is notmaterial, 'it is preferred for the specific purpose of design of the present improvements, that the cabinet consistof an upper housing portion, the end walls of whichare indicated at It], andthe deck portion at l l, the space withinthe walls being, cooled by the evaporator unit hereinafter described. The cabinet illustrated is a of open top type'ja'cc'essto the cooled space being afiorded by slidable or otherwise displaceable top closures or doors I2. In the example shown, the walls Ill are extended downwardly in the portions Ito to form a lower compartment provided with a bottom l3, this compartment, for convenience of reference, being referred to as a mechanical compartment in which thereislocated a compressor IS, a driving motor I6 and'a receiver-condenser unit 11, all shownin dotted lines as being included herein only for completeness, these elements 'of-the assembly-forming of themselves, no part of the present invention.

, There is disposed within the refrigerating compart'me'nt '20 of the cabinet an evaporator indi--- cated generally at 2| and the details of construction of which are more fully illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, as will appear. Suitable connections (not shown in detail) are exemplified by the tube element' 22 forming aconn'ection from the receiverunderstood that the principles of construction of ,the cooling unit are equally adapted 'to an arrangement for the circulation of externally re;- frigerated brine, for example, or other refrigerating liquid. In the present example, it--ispreferred to employ one or a plurality of lengths of reasonably flexible metallic tubing, each length being by further preference continuous, .i. e. without joints within the evaporator-per se. The lengths of tubing are so formed up, as will later be explained in more detail, thatin the'finished cooling unit each thereof is for the most part of horizontal trend, and such that the :several lengths of tubing generally indicated at 25 are laid up in spaced, parallel, superposed relation. a best appears in Figs. '3 and 4. v The number of superposed lengths of tubing, shown as nine in the 'exampleselected, will depend obviously upon the desired depth :of the open top cells desired for the bottled or other products to be cooled by the cabinet. v

Proceeding to a description of the preferred shape of the tubes in horizontal plan, it is preferred, first, that the arrangement of the tubing elements be of a generally sinuousiforms o that the adjacent companion portions coact, in the manner suggested in Fig, 2, to constitute a plurality of the open top cells :or spaces 26, each of these being, by further preference for economy of useful space required by the tubing, of generally rectangular outline as shown. This is accomplished by bending each of the two serie of '-of cabinet space to be cooled by the evaporator.

At theend of the cabinet opposite the connec tion end, the zone adjacent the end wall of the cabinet is :cooled by-an lend connecting :portion for "From the arrangement as seen by "Fig. -2, :it will be understood "as preferable that each of the open top rectangular cells 26 --is of a size sufficientto contain and *enclosea case, prevalently -24 bottles, of bottledbeverages-suchas beer soft drinksorthe like. These-cells or compartments I 2i'may-be referred to as-.-full-casecompartments,

and due to theadjacentpanillel passes 21 separating "the neighboring cells 264mm each other. there areformed two-intervening half-case the space within each-of which is enclosed aon threesides-by-the tubing, andon the-'fourth side by -the-side wall of the-cabinet, nevcral ofesuch half ca-se cells beingindicated at "33 (Fig.2). The connection endyof the evaporator -i;-, -.pref erablyso '-constructed 1 that the several lengths 1 of t'ubingat this end are-interconneeted by' U-shaped bends, and throueh the terminal bonds the single high pressure and suction connections 22 and 23 serve the whole evaporator.

As thus far described, any suitable means for assembling and maintaining the spaced relation of the lengths of tubing of the evaporator may The plate elements are each characterized by a plurality of spaced parallel channeled seats 4|,

.55 group thereof, of =t.he tubing indicated which are arcuate in transverse section, and

-preferablyof a depth to engage snugly the tubing elements which seat or nest therein. The conformity of the seats is further such that their arc are formed on radii substantially equal to the external curvature of the tubing. It is still a further preference that the tube seats or channels be presented all from the same face of the plate or bridge element, so that such element engages corresponding sides of the several superposed tubing elements of any given pass of the evaporator.

The length of the plate or bridge-piece 40 is such that, when formed, they do not extend appreciably above or below the series of tubes transve'rsely bridged thereby. The width of the plate elements is also such that the plate seats 4| engage each of the passes of tubing contiguous thereto, substantially over its planar portion, and traverse th space between the widely bent portions 28 above referred to. As thus formed up, it will appear that with the plate or bridge elements closely in contact with the lengths .of tubing as later more fully described, the intervening areas of the plate, being those parts indicated generally at 42, will serv materially to augment the useful area of the structure devoted to heat exchange, it being understood that the arrangement described is fully adaptedeither for a so-called wet cooler or .dry cooler, or, by the addition of suitable partition mean .(not shown) may be utilized for the refrigeration of one or more wet compartments andconcurrently one or more dry compartments.

The aforesaid function of the plate elements in augmenting radiation area is still further enhanced, according to preference,by a plurality of concave-convex deformedareas 43 lying in and constituting the greater part of the area 42 in-. tervening the superposed lengths of tubing. It

is a preference that these be so formed in the bridge plates that their convex side i presented from the same side of the sheet metal element, as the concave or channel seats 4|. Obviously, however, other forms and arrangements of the areas 43 vmaybe utilized.

Although the present disclosure is not .to be understood as restrictive of the length of the .plates 40 ortheir height in assembly, it has been .found to constitute .a production economy, to utilize each suchplate element .in bridging engagement with say four of the "superposed passes of tions ll and 43 each plate lies substantially within the spaced parallel planes tangent to the opposite sides of the several corresponding lateral walls ,of the tubing, being the spaced planes tangent to such walls.

The bridging plates or fins such as 40 are preferably of a metal of high thermal conductivity such as copper and are initially available in the form of sheet metal plates of suitable gauge. The

plates are first cut to the desired areas, following which they are press-formed to provide therein the channel seats 4| of approximately half circular section, and if desired, also the concave-convex deformed portions 43 for still further augmenting the radiating surface. The metal tubing is arranged in parallel lengths, if necessary having previously been straightened, following which stripsolder with a suitable flux is disposed in the channel seat portions of the plate. The several plates are arranged in a series lengthwise of and in engagement with the tubing elements, but spaced from each other so as to allow for the bare areas of the tubing later resulting in the wide bends 28, hereinabove de scribed. The plates and tubing are placed to;- gether and held in assembled relation in a press (not shown) of mechanical 'or hydraulic type,

the platens of which are provided with suitable heating apparatus. While heat and pressure are concurrently applied to the seatin areas of the bridge and tubing elements, the solder is thoroughly inelted and squeezed over the area of each of the seats so as substantially uniformly to bond the metal of the bridge plate to the wall portions of the adjacent tubing, the efiect of the" pressure and heating step being such that no appreciable unsoldered areas remain in these zones. After a short time under heat sufficient for the solder to attain the liquid state, the coil and plate are sprayed or submerged in water, with the effect of suddenly freezing the solder and attaining a uniform and permanent connection between each of the plates and the several tubes engaged thereby. After all of the plates are thus permanently secured to the tubing elements,

the lengths of tubing are applied to a suitable bending jig or the like of such form that the several superposed lengths of tubing are simultaneously bent on the same radius and in a manner to produce the sinuous arrangement preferred, preferably the series of right angularly related passes of tubing, as. illustrated.

As will have appeared from the drawing and foregoing description, it is seen that the bridge plates consume no otherwise useful space which, but for their'presence, might be utilized for cooling and storage purposes. The spacing of adjacent tubing elements is substantiall about as illustrated, from which it results that no portion of the fin or bridge plate is at too great a distance from the refrigerant tubing to exhibit any discernible temperature difference between the plate and the coil proper. Thus even though a material portion of the entire coil is seated in the channel seats ll of the bridge plates, the high thermal conductivity of the plates maintains substantially the same efficiency for the coil as a cooling unit as if the coil was entirely exposed.

The arrangement for augmenting efiective radiation is adaptable to many types of heat ex.- change apparatus, generally, although. for convenience it is described presentl in connection with a refrigerant-circulatin unit. such as an evaporator. The sinuous arrangement of the lengths of tubing and formation thereof whereby the tubing traverses at least twice the full length of an elongate cabinet space to be cooled, has been found conducive to substantial uniformity of refrigeration at different zones of the chilled space, from end to end thereof, and thus definite ly to cooperate with the novel fin or Plate arrangement and attachment which, by equalizing temperature between the lower and upper lengths of tubing, serves equally to chill, for example, a lower layer of bottles and an upper layer disposed thereon, with substantially equal cooling effect throughout the depth of the compartments defined by the tubing. l

Although the invention has been described by making reference to a selected exemplary embodiment of the invention, the present detail of description is to be understood as illustrative and not in a limiting sense, since many changes may be made in the steps of the method described and in the arrangement of parts and combinations of the article, all. without departing from the spirit and full intended scope of the invention as defined by the claims hereunto appended.

I claim:

1. In combination with an elongate open top beverage cooling cabinet, a cooling unit within the cabinet, means for circulating a cooling medium through the unit, the unit consisting of a plurality'of lengths .of tubing, and bridge elements maintaining said lengths of tubing in spaced parallel relation, the lengths of tubing being formed to present top-open cells of substantially rectangular form, the length of,each cell being substantially the width of the cooling chamber of the cabinet, said cells being spaced from ach other a distanc substantially equalto the width of the cells, the lengths of tubing between the cells constituting partitions arranged tle container unit in combination with a rectangular open-top beverage cooling cabinet and a source of cooling fluid, th unit including a plurality. of lengths of tubing for the cooling fluid, bridge plates secured toand serving to maintain the lengths of tubing spaced in parallel relation, the lengths of tubing of the evaporator being formed to provide a plurality of open-top compartments of a generally rectangular form in plan, the length of each compartment being'substantially that of the inside width of the cooling cabinet, said compartments being spaced apart a distance substantially equal to the width of the compartments, and the lengths of tubing between the compartments constituting partitions between separate smaller compartments, said smaller compartments intervening between the first mentioned compartments and formed in part by the walls of said cabinet.

3. A cooling and partitioning unit in combination with a rectangular, open-top beverage cooling cabinet and a source of cooling fluid, said unitincluding a plurality of substantially parallel horizontal lengths of tubing, bridge plates secured to superposed portions of the several lengths of tubing and serving to maintain them in spaced parallel relation and preformed shaping, the lengths of tubing being bent to constitute a bottle-enclosing structure presenting a plurality of top-open bottle compartments of substantially rectangular form, each compartment being of a lell ih'subs entiallv t e width of. i lin chamber of the cabinet with the compartments spaced apart a distance substantially that oithe uniform width of the several compartments, the tubing'forming the several said compartments being interconnected by'lengths of tubing constituting partitions arranged one between adjacent compartments and forming with the walls of the cabinet, two separate half-size compartments intervening between the adjacent alternating top-open compartments aforesaid, the several lengths of tubing of the unit each'having, an inlet and outlet connection at the same end of the unit, whereby each-.of said lengths of tubing traverses at least wice the full length of the "4. In combination with an open-top beverage cooling cabinet; a combined cooling unit and cabinet partitioning structure within the cabinet, and means for circulating a refrigerant through the unit, the unit including a plurality of spaced, superposed, substantially "parallel lengths of tubing, combined tubing'supports and heat absorption plates bridging the corresponding portlons'of the lengths of tubing, and serving to maintain the shaping of and support thecooling unit independently of the side walls of the cabinet, the lengths of tubing being formed with a series of-substantially' equally spaced, approximately right angular'bends, whereby to result in 'a" plurality of open-top compartments of substantially rectangular form, the length of each compartment being substantially equal to the width of the cooling chamber of the cabinet, with the compartments spaced apart a distance substantially equal to their width, the tubing of each of said compartments being connected to that of other compartments, by portions extended along a longitudinal median plane Of the cooling cabinet, the last said portions constituting partitions between adjacent compartments, serving to form with the walls of the cabinet, pairs of half-size compartments intervening those first aforesaid. "5. In' an open-top beverage cooling cabinet, a cooling unit-within the cabinet, means for circulatlng a refrigerant through the unit, the unit being constituted of a plurality of' lengths of metal tubing formed to present a'plurality of topopen cells of substantially rectangular form and substantially the width of the'cooling chamber of theoabinet, with adjacent cells' spaced from each other a distance approximating the cell width, the tubing of the cells being continued .therebetween to'form a partition serving with'the cabinet walls to constitute fragmentary cells interveningthose aforesaid; a, plurality of metal plates, metallically united to the lengths'of tubing, serving to maintain them in predetermined vertically spaced relation and arranged for sup.-

lengths of tubing constituteran enclosure-presenting a plurality f s aced, open-top,rrectangular compartments, each-substantially the width of the cabinet interior, the tubing elements being further so formed that said compartments are spaced apart a distance approximating the width of the several compartments, andthe tubing being extended between and connecting with the tubingof the adjacent compartments and provide partitions arranged one intermediate the cabinet-walls, and forming therewith two half-size compartments intervening between the alternating top-open compartments, plate ele ments-serv-ing-to maintain the lengths of tubing in spacedrelation, each of said. plate elements being formed to provide: a plurality of'paralle'l", part cylindrical recesses therein; adapted to receive and partly embrace the several lengths of tubing, "and a metallic uniting material in- 'and substantially coextensive in area, with each: 'of

saidrecesses, whereby structurally to' uniteth lengthsof tubing and the plate elements to main tain' their assembled relation and to assure an intimate thermal exchange relation between: the lengths'of tubing and'the plate elements. 7; In combination with an elongateopen-top beverage cooling cabinet, a cooling" unit within the cabinet, means for circulatinga cooling'me v dium'through the unit, the unit'con'sisting of a port of the tubing and cooling unit, from the floor I portion of the cooling cabinet independently of support by thewalls thereoha plurality'of said platesbeing characterized by outstruck portions formed between the tubing elements, said outstruck portions serving to augment the rigidity of th lates in supporting the tubing and serving to augment the heatexchange area of the plates.

6. In combination with an open-top beverage cooling cabinet, a cooling unit in the cabinet, means for circulating-a refrigerant through'the unit, .theunit consisting of a plurality of lengths of tubing characterized by a series of'spaced, substantially rightangular bends so spaced along t e able m i sem y in th c e t e plurality of lengths of tubing maintainedin spaced-parallel relation, the lengthof tubing be ing formed to present spaced top -open,cells"' ot substantially rectangular form, and the lengths of'tubing between the cells constituting part1 tions arranged one between'other adjacent 'cells and forming. withthe walls-of the 'cabinet'two separate half-sized cells intervening between" arternating top-open cells.

8. A combined cooler and compartmented bottle container unit combination with a rectan gular open-top beverage cooling cabinet and source'of'-"c'ooling fluid, the unit including a plu rality of lengths 'of tublngfor the cooling fiuid maintained in parallel relation, thelengths of tubing being formedto provide a plurality of open-top compartments of agenerally' 'rectan gular formin plan, and the lengths of tubing between the' compartments constituting partitions between separate smaller compartments intervening between the first mentioned compart m'ents and formed in part by the walls of said cabinet.

- 9. In combination with an open-top beverage the unit, theunit including a plurality of spaced,

superposed, substantially parallel lengths oftubing, the lengths of tubing being formed with a series of substantially equally spaced, approximately right angular bends, whereby to result'in plurality of open-top compartments of substantially'rectangular form, the tubing. of each of said compartments being connected to that'of other compartments by portions extended along a longitudinal medianplane ofthe cooling cabinet, the last said portions constituting partitions between adjacent compartments and serving'to form with the walls of the cabinet, pairs of halfsizec-ompartments intervening those first aforesaid.

10.- The combination with an open-top beverage cooling cabinet, of vertically spaced continuous tubing bent to form refrigerating coilsfor the cabinet and said coils arranged to provide a a plurality of open top compartments, certain compartments being entirely enclosed by the coils and other utilizing a wall of the cabinet as an outside closure, and the partially enclosed compartments being half the size of the entirely enclosed compartments and arranged in pairs between the same lengthwise of the cabinet.

11; The combination with an open top beverage cooling cabinet, of vertically spaced continuous tubing bent to form refrigerating coils for the cabinet and said coils arranged to provide a plurality of open top compartments, certain compartments being entirely enclosed by the coils and others utilizing a wall of the cabinet as an outside closure, and the tubing of said entirely enclosed compartments being connected by portions extending along a longitudinal medial plane of the cooling cabinet which portions together with the spaced coils of the adjacent entirely enclosed compartments form the 19 partially enclosed compartments of the cabinet;

LOUIS WEISS. 

